Run batted in
A run batted in, plural runs batted in, is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored. For example, if the batter bats a base hit another player on a higher base can head home to score a run, the batter gets credited with batting in that run. Before the 1920 Major League Baseball season, runs batted in were not an official baseball statistic; the RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. Common nicknames for an RBI include "ribby", "rib", "ribeye"; the plural of RBI is "RBIs", although some commentators use "RBI" as both singular and plural, as it can stand for "runs batted in". The 2018 edition of the Official Baseball Rules of Major League Baseball, Rule 9.04 Runs Batted In, reads A run batted in is a statistic credited to a batter whose action at bat causes one or more runs to score, as set forth in this Rule 9.04.
The official scorer shall credit the batter with a run batted in for every run that scores unaided by an error and as part of a play begun by the batter's safe hit, sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly, infield out or fielder's choice, unless Rule 9.04 applies. The official scorer shall not credit a run batted in when the batter grounds into a force double play or a reverse-force double play; the official scorer's judgment must determine whether a run batted in shall be credited for a run that scores when a fielder holds the ball or throws to a wrong base. Ordinarily, if the runner keeps going, the official scorer should credit a run batted in; the perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that compose the triple crown. In addition, career RBIs are cited in debates over who should be elected to the Hall of Fame. However, critics within the field of sabermetrics, argue that RBIs measure the quality of the lineup more than it does the player himself since an RBI can only be credited to a player if one or more batters preceding him in the batting order reached base.
This implies that better offensive teams—and therefore, the teams in which the most players get on base—tend to produce hitters with higher RBI totals than equivalent hitters on lesser-hitting teams. Totals are current through June 24, 2018. Active players are in bold. Hank Aaron – 2,297 Babe Ruth – 2,214 Cap Anson - 2,075 Alex Rodríguez – 2,055 Barry Bonds – 1,996 Lou Gehrig – 1,993 Albert Pujols – 1,981 Stan Musial – 1,951 Ty Cobb – 1,944 Jimmie Foxx – 1,922 Eddie Murray – 1,917 Willie Mays - 1,903 Hack Wilson – 191 Lou Gehrig – 185 Hank Greenberg – 183 Jimmie Foxx – 175 Lou Gehrig – 173 12 RBIsJim Bottomley Mark Whiten 11 RBIsWilbert Robinson Tony Lazzeri Phil Weintraub 10 RBIsBy 11 MLB players, most Mark Reynolds on July 7, 2018 Fernando Tatís – 8 Ed Cartwright – 7 Alex Rodriguez – 7 David Freese – 21 Scott Spiezio – 19 Sandy Alomar – 19 David Ortiz – 19 List of Major League Baseball runs batted in records
Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development and a way to prepare for the major leagues. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses. Most are members of the umbrella organization known as Minor League Baseball, which operates under the Commissioner of Baseball within the scope of organized baseball. Several leagues, known as independent baseball leagues, do not have any official links to Major League Baseball. Except for the Mexican League, teams in the organized minor leagues are independently owned and operated but are directly affiliated with one major league team through a standardized Player Development Contract; these leagues go by the nicknames the "farm system", "farm club", or "farm team" because of a joke passed around by major league players in the 1930s when St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey formalized the system, teams in small towns were "growing players down on the farm like corn".
Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball teams may enter into a PDC for a two- or four-year term. At the expiration of a PDC term, teams may renew their affiliation, or sign new PDCs with different clubs, though many relationships are renewed and endure for extended time periods. For example, the Omaha Storm Chasers have been the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals since the Royals joined the American League in 1969, but the Columbus Clippers changed affiliations, after being associated with the New York Yankees from 1979, to the Washington Nationals in 2007, have been affiliated with the Cleveland Indians since 2009. A few minor league teams are directly owned by their major league parent club, such as the Springfield Cardinals, owned by the St. Louis Cardinals, all of the Atlanta Braves' affiliates except the Florida Fire Frogs. Minor League teams that are owned directly by the major league club do not have PDCs with the parent club and are not part of the reaffiliation shuffles that occur each year.
Today, there are 14 MLB-affiliated minor leagues with a total of 160 revenue-generating teams, located in large and small cities and suburbs across the United States and Canada, there are three MLB-affiliated rookie leagues with a total of 80 teams, located in Arizona and the Dominican Republic, though these teams do not generate revenue. The Mexican League, with 16 teams, is independent but tied with MLB. Several more independent leagues operate in the United States and Canada; the earliest professional baseball league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players of 1871 to 1875, comprised all professional teams. This system proved unworkable, however, as there was no way to ensure competitive balance, financially unsound clubs failed in midseason; this problem was solved in 1876 with the formation of the National League, with a limited membership which excluded less competitive and financially weaker teams. Professional clubs outside the NL responded by forming regional associations of their own.
There was a series of ad hoc groupings, such as the New England Association of 1877 and the Eastern Championship Association of 1881. These were loose groups of independent clubs which agreed to play a series of games over the course of one season for a championship pennant; the first true minor league is traditionally considered to be the Northwestern League of 1883 to 1884. Unlike the earlier minor associations, it was conceived as a permanent organization, it along with the NL and the American Association, was a party to the National Agreement of 1883. Included in this was the agreement to respect the reserve lists of clubs in each league. Teams in the NL and the AA could only reserve players, paid at least $1000. Northwest League teams could reserve players paid $750, implicitly establishing the division into major and minor leagues. Over the next two decades, more minor leagues signed various versions of the National Agreement; the minor leagues joined together to negotiate jointly. In the late 1890s, the Western League run by Ban Johnson decided to challenge the NL's position.
In 1900, he changed the name of the league to the American League and vowed to make deals to sign contracts with players who were dissatisfied with the pay and terms of their deals with the NL. This led to a nasty turf war that heated up in 1901 enough to concern Patrick T. Powers, president of the Eastern League, many other minor league owners about the conflict affecting their organizations. Representatives of the different minor leagues met at the Leland Hotel in Chicago on September 5, 1901. In response to the NL–AL battle, they agreed to form the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, called the NAPBL, or NA for short; the purpose of the NAPBL at the time was to maintain the independence of the leagues involved. Several continued to work independently. Powers was made the first president of the NAPBL, whose offices were established in Auburn, New York. In 1903, the conflict between the AL and NL ended in the National Agreement of 1903; the NAPBL became involved in the stages of the negotiations to develop rules for the acquisition of players from their leagues by the NL and the AL.
The 1903 agreement ensured that teams would be compensated for the players that they had taken the time and effort to scout and develop, no NA team was required to sell their players, although most did because the cash was an important source of revenue for most teams. The NA leagues were still fiercely
Anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids, are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects to testosterone. They are anabolic and increase protein within cells in skeletal muscles, have varying degrees of androgenic and virilizing effects, including induction of the development and maintenance of masculine secondary sexual characteristics such as the growth of facial and body hair; the word anabolic, referring to anabolism, comes from the Greek ἀναβολή anabole, "that, thrown up, mound". Androgens or AAS are one of three types of sex hormone agonists, the others being estrogens like estradiol and progestogens like progesterone. AAS were synthesized in the 1930s, are now used therapeutically in medicine to stimulate muscle growth and appetite, induce male puberty and treat chronic wasting conditions, such as cancer and AIDS; the American College of Sports Medicine acknowledges that AAS, in the presence of adequate diet, can contribute to increases in body weight as lean mass increases and that the gains in muscular strength achieved through high-intensity exercise and proper diet can be additionally increased by the use of AAS in some individuals.
Health risks can be produced by long-term use or excessive doses of AAS. These effects include harmful changes in cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, liver damage, dangerous changes in the structure of the left ventricle of the heart; these risks are only increased when, as they do, athletes take steroids alongside other drugs, causing more damage to their bodies. The effect of anabolic steroids on the heart can cause Myocardial infarction, strokes as well. Conditions pertaining to hormonal imbalances such as gynecomastia and testicular size reduction may be caused by AAS. In women and children, AAS can cause irreversible masculinization. Ergogenic uses for AAS in sports and bodybuilding as performance-enhancing drugs are controversial because of their adverse effects and the potential to gain unfair advantage in physical competitions, their use is referred to as doping and banned by most major sporting bodies. Athletes have been looking for drugs to enhance their athletic abilities since the Olympics started in Ancient Greece.
For many years, AAS have been by far the most detected doping substances in IOC-accredited laboratories. In countries where AAS are controlled substances, there is a black market in which smuggled, clandestinely manufactured or counterfeit drugs are sold to users. Since the discovery and synthesis of testosterone in the 1930s, AAS have been used by physicians for many purposes, with varying degrees of success; these can broadly be grouped into anabolic and other uses. Bone marrow stimulation: For decades, AAS were the mainstay of therapy for hypoplastic anemias due to leukemia, kidney failure or aplastic anemia. Growth stimulation: AAS can be used by pediatric endocrinologists to treat children with growth failure. However, the availability of synthetic growth hormone, which has fewer side effects, makes this a secondary treatment. Stimulation of appetite and preservation and increase of muscle mass: AAS have been given to people with chronic wasting conditions such as cancer and AIDS. Stimulation of lean body mass and prevention of bone loss in elderly men, as some studies indicate.
However, a 2006 placebo-controlled trial of low-dose testosterone supplementation in elderly men with low levels of testosterone found no benefit on body composition, physical performance, insulin sensitivity, or quality of life. Prevention or treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Nandrolone decanoate is approved for this use. Although they have been indicated for this indication, AAS saw little use for this purpose due to their virilizing side effects. Aiding weight gain following surgery or physical trauma, during chronic infection, or in the context of unexplained weight loss. Counteracting the catabolic effect of long-term corticosteroid therapy. Oxandrolone improves both short-term and long-term outcomes in people recovering from severe burns and is well-established as a safe treatment for this indication. Treatment of idiopathic short stature, hereditary angioedema, alcoholic hepatitis, hypogonadism. Methyltestosterone is used in the treatment of delayed puberty, hypogonadism and erectile dysfunction in males, in low doses to treat menopausal symptoms, postpartum breast pain and engorgement, breast cancer in women.
Androgen replacement therapy for men with low levels of testosterone. Induction of male puberty: Androgens are given to many boys distressed about extreme delay of puberty. Testosterone is now nearly the only androgen used for this purpose and has been shown to increase height and fat-free mass in boys with delayed puberty. Masculinizing hormone therapy for transgender men, other transmasculine people, intersex people, by producing masculine secondary sexual characteristics such as a voice deepening, increased bone and muscle mass, masculine fat distribution and body hair, clitoral enlargement, as well as mental changes such as alleviation of gender dysphoria and increased sex drive. Treatment of breast cancer in women, although they are now rarely used for this purpose due to their marked virilizing side effects. In low doses as a component of hormone therapy for postmenopausal and transgender women, for instance to increase energy, well-being, and
Lucas Duda
Lucas Christopher Duda is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves, he made his MLB debut in 2010 for the Mets. Prior to playing professionally, Duda attended the University of Southern California and played college baseball for the USC Trojans. Duda, who bats left-handed and throws right-handed, has appeared in the outfield for the Mets. Duda was born in California, on February 3, 1986 to David and Eleanor Duda, he attended Arlington High School in California. Duda enrolled in the University of Southern California, where he played college baseball for the USC Trojans baseball team from 2005 through 2007. Duda played 143 games for the Trojans, hitting 11 home runs, with 81 runs batted in, a.275 batting average. Duda was selected by the New York Mets in the seventh round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, as the 243rd overall selection, he began his professional career in 2007 with the Single-A Brooklyn Cyclones of the Short Season Single-A New York–Penn League, where he batted.299, with 32 runs batted in, 32 runs, 4 home runs.
During the following winter, he played on the Waikiki BeachBoys of Hawaii Winter Baseball, batting.340, with 13 runs batted in, 12 runs, 3 home runs. In 2008, he played for the St. Lucie Mets of the Single-A Florida State League, where he batted.263, with 66 runs batted in, 58 runs, 11 home runs. For the 2009 season, Duda was promoted to the Double-A Binghamton Mets, where he batted.281, with 53 runs batted in, 49 runs, 9 home runs. During the fall of 2009, Duda played for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League, where he in 5 at bats batted.400, with 2 runs batted in and no home runs. Duda began the 2010 season continuing to play for the Double-A Binghamton Mets, was promoted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on June 14. While in Buffalo, Duda homered in five consecutive games. In 70 games for Buffalo, Duda hit 17 home runs, 2 triples, 23 doubles, had 53 runs batted in, while compiling a.314 batting average. At the end of the season, the Bisons named him their Most Valuable Player. On August 31, 2010, the Mets announced that Duda would be added to the major league roster as part of their September call-ups.
Duda made his major league debut on September 1, against the Atlanta Braves, facing starting pitcher Tommy Hanson, whom he played against in high school. He made a "stellar sliding catch" in the outfield. Duda had to leave the game in the eighth inning due to hamstring cramps, which he said came from dehydrating while on the plane from Buffalo to Atlanta. On September 17, 2010, again batting against Hanson, Duda hit his first career major-league home run. Former Mets manager Jerry Manuel watched Duda during batting practice when he was first called up to the Majors and noted that Duda reminded him of Magglio Ordóñez or Moisés Alou. With Ike Davis starting at first base, Duda's primary position in the minor leagues, all of Duda's playing time came in left field, he batted.202 for the year. The Mets named Duda their Sterling Organizational Player of the Year in 2010. On April 10, 2011, Duda was optioned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. On August 8, 2011, batting in the cleanup spot for the first time in his major league career, Duda picked up his first major-league walk-off hit, with a two-run single off of Padres closer and former Mets reliever Heath Bell.
He batted.292 for the season. Duda was selected as the starting right fielder for the Mets to begin the 2012 campaign. On April 7, 2012, Duda had his first multi-homer game, hitting two solo shots off the Atlanta Braves in a 4–2 Mets' victory. Going into June 26, Duda was hitting.269 with a team-high 11 home runs, yet from June 26 to July 24 Duda was hitting.138 with one home run and a.200 slugging percentage. The sub par batting performance coupled with poor fielding prompted his being demoted to Triple-A Buffalo. On August 26, the Mets recalled Duda from Buffalo, it was the 26-year-old's second stint in the majors during the 2012 season. He batted.239 for the season. In October, Duda broke his right wrist while moving furniture at his home in South California, had surgery on November 5. However, Duda returned in time for spring training. On June 23, Duda was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained muscle between his ribs. Following a rehabilitation stint, Duda was activated and immediately optioned to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s.
Duda was recalled on August 24. He batted.223 for the season. With Ike Davis still occupying first base, Duda played the majority of his defensive games in the corner outfield positions for the fourth consecutive season. On April 4, Mets manager Terry Collins announced that Duda would get the bulk of the playing time at first base over Ike Davis; that night, Duda hit two 2-run home runs in a 4–3 victory against the Cincinnati Reds. On April 18, after a positional battle which lasted several seasons and a struggle with valley fever, Ike Davis was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Zack Thornton and a player to be named later revealed to be Blake Taylor; this was done in order to make room for Duda as the starting first baseman. On August 1, Duda hit his 20th home run of the season against the San Francisco Giants' pitcher Ryan Vogelsong. Duda had never reached the 20 home run mark before the 2014 season. On September 28, Duda hit his career high 30th home run of the season; that home run put him at 92 runs batted in, another career high.
He finished the year leading the Mets in home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and total bases, his first time doing so any of those categories. In November, Duda represented Major Le
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, gives established players practice time prior to competitive play. Spring training has always attracted fan attention, drawing crowds who travel to the warm climates of Arizona and Florida to enjoy the weather and watch their favorite teams play, spring training coincides with spring break for many US college students. Spring training starts in mid-February and continues until just before Opening Day of the regular season, which falls in the last week of March. In some years, teams not scheduled to play on Opening Day will play spring training games that day. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training first because pitchers benefit from a longer training period. A few days position players arrive and team practice begins. Exhibition games begin around the first of March. Spring training by major league teams in sites other than their regular season game sites first became popular in the 1890s and by 1910 was in wide use.
Hot Springs, has been called the original "birthplace" of spring training baseball. The location of Hot Springs and the concept of getting the players ready for the upcoming season was the brainchild of Chicago White Stockings team President Albert Spalding and Cap Anson. In 1886, the White Stockings traveled to Hot Springs to prepare for the upcoming season. After holding spring training at the Hot Springs Baseball Grounds, the White Stockings went on to have a successful season and other teams took notice. In subsequent years other teams joined Chicago and began holding spring training in Hot Springs, leading to the first spring training games; the Cleveland Spiders, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Red Sox followed the White Stockings to Hot Springs. Whittington Field/Ban Johnson Park, Majestic Park, Fogel Field were all built in Hot Springs to host Major League teams. Famously, on St. Patrick's Day, 1918, a young successful pitcher named Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox was forced to play an emergency game at first base in a spring training game against Pittsburgh.
This game changed the course of baseball history, as it was the first time Ruth had played any position other than pitcher. Ruth responded by hitting two home runs that day in Hot Springs, the second was a 573-foot shot that landed across the street from Whittington Park in a pond of the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo; the Red Sox took notice and soon Ruth was playing the field more often. Over 130 Major League Baseball Hall of Famers, including such names as Ruth, Cy Young, Cap Anson, Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Rogers Hornsby, Mel Ott, Dizzy Dean, Jimmie Foxx, Stan Musial all trained in Hot Springs Spring Training; the First Boys of Spring is a 2015 documentary about Hot Springs Spring Training. The film was narrated by area native, actor Billy Bob Thornton, produced by filmmaker Larry Foley; the documentary began airing nationally on the MLB Network in February 2016. Early training sites include the St. Louis Cardinals in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the Detroit Tigers are credited with being the first team to conduct spring training camp in Arizona.
They trained in Phoenix at Riverside Park at Central Avenue and the Salt River in 1929. The Philadelphia Phillies were the first of the current major-league teams to train in Florida, when they spent two weeks in Jacksonville, Florida in 1889. Spring training in Florida began in earnest in 1913, when the Chicago Cubs trained in Tampa and the Cleveland Indians in Pensacola. One year two other teams moved to Florida for spring training, the real start of the Grapefruit League. Except for a couple of years during World War II, when travel restrictions prevented teams training south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers, Florida hosted more than half of the spring training teams through 2009. Since 2010, major league teams have been divided between Arizona and Florida during spring training, with 15 teams in Florida and 15 teams in Arizona. All but six of the major league teams have gone to spring training in Florida at one time or another. Many of the most famous players in baseball history have called Florida home for 4–6 weeks every spring.
According to the autobiography of former Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck, the avoidance of racism was one reason the Cactus League was established. In 1947, Veeck was the owner of the minor league Milwaukee Brewers and the team trained in Ocala, Florida. Veeck inadvertently sat in the Black section of the segregated stands and engaged in conversation with a couple of fans. According to Veeck's book, the local law enforcement told Veeck he could not sit in that section, called the Ocala mayor when Veeck argued back; the mayor backed down when Veeck threatened to take his team elsewhere for spring training and promised to let the country know why. Veeck sold the Brewers in 1945 and temporarily retired to a ranch in Tucson, but purchased the Cleveland Indians in 1946. Intending to introduce African-American players, Veeck decided to buck tradition and train the Indians in Tucson and convinced the New York Giants to give Phoenix a try, thus the
Sun-Sentinel
The Sun-Sentinel is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Broward County and southern Palm Beach County. Owned by Tribune Publishing, it circulates all throughout the three counties that comprise South Florida, it is the largest-circulation newspaper in the area. Nancy Meyer has held the position of publisher and Julie Anderson has held the position of editor-in-chief since February 2018. For many years, the Sun-Sentinel targeted Broward County and provided only limited news coverage in Palm Beach County. However, in the late 1990s, it expanded its coverage to all of South Florida, including Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, in the late 1990s. In the former area, The Miami Herald is its primary competition, while in the latter area, The Palm Beach Post is the chief competition; the Sun-Sentinel emphasizes local news, through its Community Local sections. It has a daily circulation of 163,728 and a Sunday circulation of 228,906; the paper was awarded its first Pulitzer Prize in 2013, in the category of Public Service Journalism, for its investigative series about off-duty police officers who engage in regular reckless speeding.
The newspaper has been a finalist for a Pulitzer 13 times, including for its 2005 coverage of Hurricane Wilma and an investigation into the Federal Emergency Management Agency's mismanagement of hurricane aid. It produced a significant contribution to information graphics in the form of News Illustrated, a weekly full-page graphic that has received more than 30 international awards; the photography department has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize twice in the Spot News category. It was a finalist in 1982 for its coverage of a Haitian refugee boat disaster, again in 1999 for its powerful coverage of Hurricane Mitch in Central America; the Sun-Sentinel website has news video from two South Florida television stations: West Palm Beach's CBS affiliate WPEC and Miami and Fort Lauderdale CW affiliate WSFL-TV. It publishes a Spanish-language weekly, El Sentinel, as well as various community publications; the Sun-Sentinel traces its history to the 1910 founding of the Fort Lauderdale Weekly Herald, the first known newspaper in the Fort Lauderdale area, the Everglades Breeze, a locally printed paper founded in 1911, which promoted itself as "Florida's great Farm and Fruit Growing paper."
In 1925, the Everglades Breeze was renamed the Sentinel. That same year, two Ohio publishers bought both the Sentinel and the Herald, consolidating the newspapers into a daily publication called the Daily News and Evening Sentinel. In 1926, Horace and Tom Stillwell purchased the paper. However, the devastation wrought by the 1926 Miami hurricane caused circulation to drop and, in 1929, Tom Stillwell sold the paper to the Gore Publishing Company, headed by R. H. Gore, Sr. By 1945, circulation of the Daily News and Evening Sentinel had climbed to 10,000. In 1953, Gore Publishing changed the name of the paper to the Fort Lauderdale News and added a Sunday morning edition. In 1960, when the paper had a circulation of 60,000, Gore Publishing purchased the weekly Pompano Beach Sun and expanded it into a six-day morning paper, the Pompano Sun-Sentinel—thus reviving the "Sentinel" name it had discarded seven years earlier. In 1963, the Tribune Company acquired Gore Publishing. In the 1970s, the morning paper changed its name to the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.
In 1982, the two papers merged their editorial staffs. The two papers merged into a single morning paper under the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel name. In 2000, after expanding its coverage, the paper changed its name to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. In 2001, the Sun-Sentinel opened a full-time foreign bureau in Cuba. Shared with the Tribune Co. their Havana newsroom was the only permanent presence of any South Florida newspaper at the time. In 2002, the Sun-Sentinel began publishing El Sentinel; the newspaper is distributed free on Saturdays to Hispanic households in Broward and Palm Beach counties and is available in racks in both counties. It is available online at Elsentinel.com. In 2004, the paper won the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for its coverage of health and human services in the state. On August 17, 2008, the Sun-Sentinel unveiled a redesigned layout, with larger graphics, more color, a new large "S" logo; this is in tune with another Tribune newspaper, which redesigned its newspaper a few months and created a brand synergy with Tribune sister operation and CW affiliate WSFL-TV, which relocated its operations to the Sun-Sentinel offices in 2008 and adopted a logo matching the capital "S" in the new logo.
Since 2011 to present day, the newspaper made significant updates to meld print media with modern media. These advances include: launching the pure-play entertainment website SouthFlorida.com and starting a video channel called SunSentinel Originals. As a result of their media integration, the newspaper was named one of Editor & Publisher's "10 Newspapers That Do it Right"; the Sun-Sentinel gives annual awards to area businesses and business leaders, including Top Workplaces for People on the Move, Excalibur Award and others. In April 2013, the Sun-Sentinel won its first gold medal Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. In 2014 the Sun-Sentinel was named one of the "10 Newspapers That Do It Right" by Editor & Publisher magazine. Official website Today's Sun-Sentinel front page at the Newseum website
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a Minor League Baseball league operating in the Western and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, one grade below Major League Baseball, it is named the Pacific Coast League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Inc. Its headquarters are in Texas. Upon its founding in 1903, the Pacific Coast League fielded six teams from the Pacific States of California and Washington. Today, the league is composed of 16 teams across 12 states stretching from Sacramento, California, to Nashville and from Tacoma, Washington, to New Orleans, Louisiana; the PCL was one of the premier regional baseball leagues in the first half of the 20th century. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, to which it aspired, its quality of play was considered high. A number of top stars of the era, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, were products of the league. In 1958, with the arrival of major league teams on the west coast and the availability of televised major league games, the PCL's modern era began with each team signing Player Development Contracts to become farm teams of major league clubs.
A league champion is determined at the end of every season. The San Francisco Seals won 14 Pacific Coast League titles, the most in the league's history, followed by the Los Angeles Angels and the Albuquerque Dukes and Portland Beavers. After the season, the PCL champion plays in the Triple-A National Championship Game against the International League champion to determine an overall champion of Triple-A baseball; the Omaha Storm Chasers and Sacramento River Cats have each won two national championships, more than any other PCL teams. The Pacific Coast League was formed on December 29, 1902, when officials from the California State League met in San Francisco for the purpose of expanding the league beyond California. Six franchises were granted; these were the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Oaks, Portland Beavers, Sacramento Senators, San Francisco Seals, Seattle Indians. A dispute over territories owned by the Pacific Northwest League, in which the PCL had placed franchises, the PCL's allowing blacklisted players to compete led to the National Association labeling the PCL as an outlaw league.
The mild climate of the West Coast California, allowed the league to play longer seasons, sometimes starting in late February and ending as late as the beginning of December. During the 1905 season the San Francisco Seals set the all-time PCL record by playing 230 games. Teams played between 170 and 200 games in a season until the late 1950s; this allowed players, who were career minor leaguers, to hone their skills, earn an extra month or two of pay, reduce the need to find off-season work. These longer seasons gave owners the opportunity to generate more revenue. Another outcome was that a number of the all-time minor league records for season statistical totals are held by players from the PCL; the inaugural 1903 season, which consisted of over 200 scheduled games for each team, began on March 26. The Los Angeles Angels finished the season in first place with a 133–78 record, making them the first league champions. In 1904, National Association President Patrick T. Powers brokered terms with the PCL, clearing it of its outlaw status and designating it as a Class A league.
In 1909, the league classification was raised to Double-A. In 1919, with the earlier addition of the Salt Lake Bees and Vernon Tigers, league membership reached eight teams for the first time. While the league had experienced little commercial success up to this point, the 1920s were a turning point which saw increased attendance and teams fielding star players; the Great Depression of the 1930s resulted in a lower quality of play due to the league's salary reduction. Still, a number of top stars, including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, Ox Eckhardt, competed on PCL teams that decade. Helping attendance was the introduction of night games. At Sacramento's Moreing Field, the Sacramento Solons and the Oakland Oaks played the first night baseball game, five years before any major league night game, on June 10, 1930; the Hollywood Stars and San Diego Padres were added to the league in the 1930s as well. During the first half of the 20th century, the Pacific Coast League developed into one of the premier regional baseball leagues.
The cities enfranchised by the other two high-minor leagues, the International League and the American Association, were coordinated geographically with the major leagues, but such was not the case with the PCL. With no major league baseball team existing west of St. Louis, the PCL was unrivaled for American west coast baseball. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, its quality of play was considered high. Drawing from a strong pool of talent in the area, the PCL produced many outstanding players, including such future major-league Hall of Famers as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Tony Lazzeri, Paul Waner, Earl Averill, Bobby Doerr, Joe Gordon, Ernie Lombardi. Amid success experienced after World War II, league President Pants Rowland began to envision the PCL as a third major league. During 1945 the league voted to become a major league. However, the American League and National League were uninterested in allowing it to join their ranks. While many PCL players went on to play in the major leagues, teams in the league were successful enough that they could offer competitive salaries to avoid being outbid for their players' services.
Some players made a career out of the minor leagues. One of the better known was Frank Shellenback, whose major league pitching career was brief, but
.jpg)
